10 Amazing Reader Builds From Popular Mechanics Plans

For more than a century, one of PM's staples has been publishing detailed project plans for our readers. But with the advent of the Web, readers could not only find our entire digitized archive online, but also post the results of their builds from PM plans to YouTube, Flickr or elsewhere. Here are some photos and videos of the best projects built with, or inspired by, plans from old issues of Popular Mechanics.

A Century of DIY

A Century of DIY

"Aeroplane Built From Magazine Description." That was the humble headline 100 years ago, when Popular Mechanics ran a photo of an airplane two Massachusetts men built based on plans printed in the magazine the previous year. A century later, PopMech still loves DIY aviation—our October cover story is about how to build your own plane. And PM readers are still building projects based on, or inspired by, plans printed in the magazine.

Today's readers have a 110-year catalog of Popular Mechanics plans to pick from. And they have something else those 1911 plane-building Massachusetts men didn't have: YouTube. The guys who built Demoiselle back then had to send in their photo to have it run in PopMech, but today's DIYers can record their builds and upload them for the world to appreciate. Here are some of best PM builds we found.

1970 LeGrand

1970 LeGrand

Iowan Glenn LeGrand constructed this bright orange machine, a pure electric vehicle built on top of a VW Beetle. LeGrand passed away a few years ago, but a decades-old Des Moines Register article about him says that he based part of "the LeGrand" on old Popular Mechanics plans. This fluorescent, insect-looking electric car made the rounds on some car and tech blogs this summer when it was spotted for sale on eBay.

The wild exterior is made of formed Plexiglass. There's panel on the side of the car where you'd expect the gas cap to be, but when you flip open the cover on the LeGrand it reveals the electrical port to plug it in. This homemade EV has a radio and headlights; its door and windows are removable. Its 12 batteries provide a range of about 50 miles—amazing for 1975, and about the same as modern pure EVs. The old Register article says that LeGrand worked on his car from 1970 to 1975.